


How To Surprise A Genius

by a_salty_alto



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Birthdays, Fluff, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just a teeny bit, minor canon compliant angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 02:28:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17993117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_salty_alto/pseuds/a_salty_alto
Summary: “I’ve been trying to surprise Tony for his birthday for ten years,” Colonel Rhodes would inform them at the party later, “it’s impossible.”That sparked off a little game for the Avengers.Try to surprise Tony on his birthday.





	How To Surprise A Genius

It all started after the Avengers had reformed.

Clint had worked his butt off to put together a surprise party for Tony, just because he “wanted to see the dumb look on Tony’s face.”

The Avengers had been called out on a mission on the day of the party, a particularly rough one. When it was over, everyone was tired and sore.

“C'mon, guys. Let’s go back, get cleaned off, and have some of that cake Clint got.” Tony had said.

“Wait, what? How’d you know about the surprise party?” Clint moaned. Tony simply cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“It was supposed to be a surprise?”

“I’ve been trying to surprise Tony for his birthday for ten years,” Colonel Rhodes would inform them at the party later, “it’s impossible.”

That sparked off a little game for the Avengers.

Try to surprise Tony on his birthday.

It was harder than most of them expected.

He always seemed to know what the Avengers were doing, whether it be giving him a special gift, throwing him a party, or even just getting him cake.

“He keeps a close eye on the Avengers’ finances. He’s going to know about anything you buy.” Pepper said after one failed attempt that involved Hulk making a gigantic cake. It was delicious and well crafted and Tony loved it, but he also fully expected it, coming into the kitchen as soon as Hulk had put on the finishing touches.

Pepper and Rhodey also joined in on the team’s efforts, usually by distracting Tony, but it never seemed to work.

It was frustrating, mostly. Tony wasn’t doing it maliciously. He wasn’t mocking them or making a big deal over the fact that they couldn’t manage to keep a secret from him if it related to his birthday.

And it wasn’t like with Steve, who just didn’t like to celebrate his birthday. Steve had suggested they not do anything one year, thinking that might be the case, and Tony just threw his own party. Like always, it was a nice party, more suited to the other Avengers tastes than Tony’s in fact. But that just made it all the more head scratching.

“You can’t at least act surprised?” Sam had asked once.

“You’d notice I was acting.” Tony shrugged.

“Steve, is my birthday coming up?” Tony asked one evening when he was trapped in an alternate dimension and it was just Steve in the communications room.

There were a lot of nights like that.

Steve nodded.

“Did you answer with your head?”

Steve winced when he remembered Tony couldn’t see him and answered aloud.

“Is anyone planning anything?”

“Um, we were going to sing you happy birthday.” Steve explained. They had all agreed there was no point in keeping up their game when Tony wasn’t physically there.

“Nothing else?”

“No.”

“Well, you should at least make yourselves a cake or something.” Tony said.

They sat for a few minutes before Steve broached the silence with a question.

“Why don’t you let us surprise you for your birthday?” Steve asked cautiously.

He wasn’t entirely sure Tony was going to reply when a sigh rang through the speakers.

“It’s stupid. When I was a kid I decided to just, always know what people were doing for my birthday, because if I already knew than I couldn’t be disappointed. Guess I never really grew out of it.”

“Did you get disappointed a lot?”

“Howard had a tendency to miss my parties.” Steve could picture Tony shrugging. “And he wasn’t really creative when he actually got me something. He sent an apology letter with the exact same Captain America action figure for four years in a row. If I’d ever actually gotten him for my birthday, Arsenal would have been the only present Howard actually put thought into.”

“I’m sorry.” Steve said.

“Don’t be. Everyone on our team had worse birthdays growing up. A little disappointment is nothing.”

Which brings them to today. The Avengers had thought Tony was dead and he came back to them.

The least they could do was throw their leader, in Clint’s words, “THE BEST FUCKING SURPRISE PARTY THAT DUMB GENIUS HAS EVER HAD.”

Preparations are the culmination of years of failed surprise attempts by Rhodey and the Avengers.

First, they keep Tony busy. Usually that job falls to Pepper and Rhodey, but this year Steve and Natasha keep him in his lab.

They’re in luck because Tony is also swamped with SI work having to deal with the fact that he had been presumed dead by the world. He’d practically flown into a rage when he’d heard Clint had been doing the team finances.

“Even if I’m dead, you guys should be covered. I set that up years ago.” Tony had said through gritted teeth. He also promised T'Challa to reimburse the people of Wakanda with interest for footing the bill while he was gone.

Still though, Pepper and Rhodey pay for the party supplies out of pocket (the Avengers also promise to pay them back after) just to be sure it doesn’t show up on Tony’s radar.

Hulk’s on cake duty again, with Kamala acting as his assistant.

Thor calls up a furious thunderstorm while Carol and Jane loudly spar in the training room to cover up any noise from the party set up.

Rhodey and Pepper prepare dinner food, since they’re Tony’s oldest friends and know his favorite foods better than anyone.

Clint finally gives the signal and Steve and Natasha have a hell of a time prying Tony away from his work to come upstairs for dinner.

Tony marches to the living room grumpily, only planning on taking a quick snack then going back down to the lab.

He’s still complaining loudly when a loud chorus of “Surprise!” stops him im his tracks.

Tony stares, speechless, at the arranged party.

“But, i-it’s not my birthday.” Tony stammers.

“Yes it is.” Clint beams. “I had FRIDAY change your calendar so it was about two weeks behind almost as soon as we got back, because I knew you don’t start watching for birthday related things until the week before.”

“I’m sorry, you what?” Tony says, and he looks about two seconds away from throttling the archer, before Sam intervenes.

“And I double checked to make sure that FRIDAY updated all your schedules and due dates so that you didn’t actually miss anything.”

“Thank you Sam, I knew you were my favorite bird,” Tony smiles. “I guess there really isn’t much else to do but get this party started.”

Everyone else responds in unison.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY!”

 


End file.
